Angry Wuhan Next-of-kin Seek Answers Over Virus Handling

Angry Wuhan next-of-kin seek answers over virus handling

Zhang took his elderly father to a Wuhan hospital for a surgical procedure in January, just as coronavirus was consuming the central Chinese city. Within days, his father was dead of the contagion

Wuhan, China, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Apr, 2020 ) :Zhang took his elderly father to a Wuhan hospital for a surgical procedure in January, just as coronavirus was consuming the central Chinese city. Within days, his father was dead of the contagion.

Devastated and angry, Zhang is now demanding answers from a government that he accuses of incompetence and lying about the extent of the virus.

He is not alone.

Zhang says he has linked online with dozens of other people whose grief over lost loved ones is paired with anger.

Zhang, in his 50s, declined to give his full name in an interview with AFP, fearing government retaliation for speaking to foreign media.

But he won't back down in his push for answers.

"I'm not afraid any more," said Zhang, who has contacted Wuhan's government for an explanation, but has received none.

"I'm just looking for the truth." As fear of the virus eases, and Wuhan gradually re-opens after a more than two-month quarantine lockdown, some traumatised citizens are venting their bitterness.

Their stories, some poured out in emotional accounts online, are emerging as suspicions grow that China's Communist Party government -- already accused of bungling its initial virus response and concealing the outbreak's scale -- continues to intentionally underestimate the number of deaths and infections.

Zhang brought his father from another province to their hometown Wuhan in mid-January for medical-insurance reasons, unaware a health catastrophe was erupting.

A mystery illness had been emanating from a food market that reportedly sold a range of exotic wildlife -- including species linked to previous deadly viral outbreaks.